The DOE’s 2025 efficiency standards bring new rules for water heaters, boilers, and plumbing fixtures—impacting PHCP wholesalers’ inventory, pricing strategies, and contractor relationships.
The 2025 standards are a reminder that regulation is never static. But wholesalers who position themselves as both compliance experts and trusted advisors can turn these challenges into an opportunity to strengthen contractor relationships—and protect their margins in the process.
This merger of equals within the U.S. PHCP industry brings together two member-owned groups consisting of 325 independently owned PHCP distributors in the U.S. and will be part of the overall AD community of over 1,000 independents spanning nine construction and industrial verticals and fourteen divisions within the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
The latest technology, product innovation and installation trends
August 28, 2025
The third edition of the Radiant & Hydronics All Stars eBook highlights the latest technologies and design trends in radiant heating. It features insights from our All-Star Roundtable on innovations and challenges, along with design trends for residential and commercial applications.
Across the country, water quality challenges vary dramatically, shaped by everything from geology to infrastructure to climate. For distributors, ignoring these regional nuances can mean stocking the wrong products, giving contractors poor advice, and ultimately missing out on trust and sales. On the flip side, understanding local water conditions gives forward-thinking wholesalers a distinct competitive edge.
While on-site support during installation isn't standard across all jobs, it's a growing part of how wholesalers like Minnesota-based DSG and Wisconsin-based First Supply serve their customers—especially when complications arise.
When warehouse processes are undocumented, what you're really doing is leaving execution up to chance. One shift might put away inventory one way, and the next shift another. One person picks using the RF gun menu, the other just memorizes where things are. When it works, it’s luck. When it fails, it’s chaos.
According to the American Institute of Architects, non-residential construction spending is projected to grow by 2.2% in 2025 and 2.6% in 2026. The industrial sector is expected to outperform other non-residential projects, with resilience and modest growth in areas like data centers, public infrastructure, and water treatment.
Our trip was focused on promoting policy solutions that address these growing concerns—ensuring that every community, regardless of geography or income, has access to safe and sustainable water. We also were there supporting the trades who install and service this critical infrastructure as well as the manufacturers and wholesale distributors that keep the supply chain full.
The new generation of contractors, engineers, estimators, and procurement officers is digital natives. They expect information to be available, clear, and accessible online—not buried in a PDF. With AI, you can produce content that speaks to this new buyer: FAQs, how-to articles, responsive website content, comparison charts, and more.
Today’s marketplace is flooded with content. Traditional marketing of product and price isn’t enough—supply houses must craft narratives to stand out and be memorable. You do more than stock and sell products, and it’s time to share that with the world.